Art Thou Afeard
by Mrs.GingerHinkley
Summary: Three times the Sisters Black encounter their boggarts.


Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter series.

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~:~:~:~

"Art thou afeard

To be the same in thine own act and valor

As thou art in desire?"

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The cabinet shakes violently.

Bella says, "I'm not afraid of anything."

And Narcissa believes her, and Meda indulges her older sister's bragging. Because Bella says it isn't bragging if it's true.

The sisters have found a boggart in the parlor, and Bella wants to show off the fact that even though she's a Black she can excel at Defense Against the Dark Arts. But Cissy has no patience and insists on being first. Her little hand pulls open the cabinet door and releases the fear.

The sorting hat appears instantly and yells that Narcissa shall be a Hufflepuff, and Narcissa runs to Bella and begs her to say it isn't true.

"It's only a boggart, Cissy. But with such a lack of bravery, at least you don't have to worry about Gryffindor," Bella teases.

In Narcissa's leave, the boggart feasts on Andromeda. From the tattered hat steps the formidable image of Auntie Walburga, glowering before her beloved tapestry. Though this is not Bella's fear, she understands Andromeda's unease. Only last visit did Walburga scream at Meda for taking quill and ink to the tapestry in a moment of boredom.

"I hate her," Andromeda mutters.

Bella laughs at her sister's exclamation until her own boggart begins to appear. Bella worries for a moment, because though she doesn't fear banshees or werewolves or dragons, she does fear one thing. She can't quite put it into words yet, but being at Hogwarts and not constantly with her sisters has helped her realize that it has something to do with the loss of sisters.

The boggart takes the shapes of the three sisters, and they look happy. Bella stares and, for a moment, wonders how this could possibly be a fear. But as the elation of the three sisters swirls with their smiles and dresses, Meda and Cissy begin to fade. Though Bellatrix notices her disappearing sisters with rising panic, the boggart version of herself does not. At least not until it is too late, until both Meda and Cissy have vanished, and Bella is left all alone.

"What does it mean?" Narcissa asks.

Bellatrix gives no answer; she saw the same boggart when they practiced at Hogwarts, but she still doesn't understand why she would ever have to fear such a thing.

Thanks to Bella, the sisters have encountered boggarts before, but this is the first time they struggle to laugh enough to make their fears disappear. The boggart delights in frightened silence, and Bella knows she must say something to make the fear just a fear.

Bella stands, a little startled, in front of her boggart, but stands nevertheless. She makes a silent promise to herself, appoints herself protector of the three, so that she might never have to face her single fear. Drawing her shoulders higher, Bella summons her courage.

"Riddikulus," Bella cries.

~:~:~:~

The cabinet shakes violently.

Bella says, "I'm not afraid of anything."

And Narcissa believes her, and Meda is too worried about her own fears to worry about her sister's. She's eighteen; she's in love. Andromeda knows that facing a boggart _now_ is reckless, because a boggart will reveal the truth if it is indeed the truth Andromeda fears. No, she does not fear the truth. Her fear is only rooted in what will certainly be Bellatrix's unforgiving reaction to the truth, Narcissa's inability to understand the truth. Besides, Andromeda now lives a reckless life, and a boggart is only a mind game.

Andromeda steps forward after Bella mocks Cissy for the youngest sister's silent fear of snakes. Any hesitation, Andromeda knows, and her sisters will read the truth in her fears. So Andromeda faces the boggart and watches the nest of snakes twist and writhe with the changing fear.

Andromeda's breath catches in the moment the boggart struggles to take its shape. Maybe it will be Ted. Maybe it will be the ring. Instead, it's Bella.

A mirror appears where the snakes formerly slithered. But the smooth, silvered glass is empty. Then, Andromeda walks closer and waits for her reflection that is oddly missing. From the other side of the looking glass, a figure strides slowly into view. At first, Andromeda senses it is herself, as though she hates who she is. The face becomes clearer, though, and Meda sees not her own face, but the face of Bellatrix.

Andromeda gasps silently, and as she brings her hand to her mouth, the reflected Bellatrix does likewise. The reflection's expression, however, is not frightened, but cold and calculating.

Narcissa realizes Andromeda's fears in a simple, confused question. "You fear becoming Bellatrix?"

Andromeda says nothing, but knows her face is as white from fear just as Bella's has paled with hurt. Bellatrix is not confused like Narcissa, however. Andromeda feels her older sister's heavy stare as though they could communicate thoughts. They both know what such a boggart implies; they both want to ignore such implications.

So Bella forces a laugh that will at least pass Narcissa's inspection.

"Really, Meda, we don't look _that_ alike."

Andromeda can't meet her sister's eyes for fear of what else Bella might discover.

The boggart begins to shift, but Bella is quicker than her fears. She raises her wand.

"Riddikulus," Bella cries.

~:~:~:~

The cabinet shakes violently.

Bella says, "I'm not afraid of anything."

And Narcissa believes her, because Bella has already experienced her only fear. Andromeda has left.

But Narcissa is more afraid than ever, so when she opens the cabinet's door, she wonders what shape the boggart will assume. She is not prepared, however, when Bella appears dead at her feet. Her throat tightens, and through tear-startled eyes must she glance to the real Bellatrix, alive and physically strong. Still, the image haunts Narcissa. Because she knows now that boggarts have a way of ensuring that fears do come true.

Bella must not recognize this, though. For she laughs, high and unnatural, as though such a scene could never occur. Perhaps, Narcissa admits for her sister's sake, Bella laughs at the absurd strangeness of seeing her own dead body.

But the boggart knows real and fake laughter as it more importantly knows bravery and façade. Bella's laugh can't kill it. It merely morphs into another of Narcissa's nightmares; she has plenty to spare these days.

Again, Narcissa sees her sister. But this time Bellatrix is alive, breathing at least, if not really living. Bellatrix sits in the vast aloneness of somewhere Narcissa does not know and can therefore not reach. She holds her left forearm and stares madly and blankly. Neglect has ruined Bella's appearance. Obsession has ruined Bella's spirit.

"I'm not afraid of anything," Narcissa echoes her sister. Her voice is hollow, and she does not believe her words as she does when Bella speaks them. But Narcissa hopes that maybe saying so will make it easier as her fear abounds around her.

"Riddikulus," Bella cries.

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**Author's Note:** Thoughts and opinions make my world go round. :)


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